How to Acquire Content for Your Web Site

Unlike many other business tasks, getting good content for your Web site is an easy and inexpensive matter. And finding the right content can make your site a real eye-catcher. Whether you're trying to boost traffic or provide information, you'll find a wealth of sources.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Classified Ads
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Links to other sites

1. Set up a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your site and establish message boards where visitors can share information. Develop a newsletter and archive it at the site. Work up other proprietary material, such as booklets and articles.
2. Link to other sites. This connects your visitors to other sources of information and can build your traffic as well if the sites link back to yours.
3. Check out Web sites that offer articles, reports and other items for reprinting, as long as the source is credited. Be careful not to use copyrighted materials without permission.
4. Contact authors of articles in trade journals and specialty newsletters and ask if they would submit an article for your site in return for publicizing their business. Offering to post a photo of the author and a short blurb about their firm may be enough to entice experts to provide good material you can use.
5. Turn to Uncle Sam. Most of the material the government distributes is copyright free. That means Small Business Administration (SBA) content may be usable, though it always pays to doublecheck before you upload it to your site.
6. Place a submissions guide on your site. If you lay out the parameters of what you want and how you want it submitted, you may be surprised with the response you'll get.
7. Buy it outright if necessary. For special reports, research and stock photos the prices you pay will vary according to size or quantity of the material and whether royalties are involved.
8. Run ads in online classifieds looking for writers. CraigsList.org is a great way to reach talent in big cities. Remember, content can be submitted from anywhere.
9. Don't go overboard: Content overkill can drive a visitor away by making a site too complex to navigate and slow to load.
10. Consider a syndication service. If you have the budget, a number of Web businesses offer a wide range of information for use on your Web site. Some examples are YellowBrix.com for business information and uclick.com for comics and cartoons.
11. Be vigilant about copyright issues. If you have any doubts, contact the person or Web site whose content you want to use. They may want appropriate credit, or payment.

What to Look For:

• Free content
• Free content
• Copyright issues

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be shy about offering links. Most other Web sites will be pleased to hook up.
• Troll the Internet. There are countless Web sites that offer free content.